| James Cranke a Lancashire portrait painter.The artist Died in Urswick, Lanes, October 1780 at the age of 73. Started as a plasterer and had trained himself to a very high level. Vertue in 1746 says he had seen a man's head painted strongly and at least as well as anyone living, which is justified by his 'Thomas Osborne', bookseller, 1747 BAC Yale. By then he was presumably working in London and there is a bill at Sandon Feb. 1745 for seven portraits of members of the Ryder family at 10 guineas for half lengths and 20 guineas for whole lengths which are quite as good as Hudson and very similar to his. Cranke also painted large copies after the old masters such as Raphael, Rubens,and Correggio. |
